Blog 15- Undercover Reporting

            Undercover journalism his mixed reviews in my book. On one end, stories such as “Ten Days in a Mad-House” by Nelly Bly are interesting and solve real-world social issues. By posing as a crazy person, Bly was able to uncover to precarious conditions that the mentally insane were subject to. Bly uncovered the truths and changes were made, people were helped. However, things could have gone bad and Bly could have been abused or worse.

            Bob Steele discusses the ethics of undercover reporting and situations where it may be appropriate. He says that if it will have a great social impact and help society then it may be appropriate. I concur, but think that social impact is arbitrary to ones own interests.

            For example, Pam Zekman went undercover to expose dodgy dance studio cheating money from seniors. What cares? This is of no particular importance and probably made for a boring read. She also went undercover to expose an abortion clinic giving fake abortions.  That not only makes for an interesting read but also will spare many women from having to go through the emotional turmoil and unnecessary expense of the fake abortions.

            In the case of Mirage Tavern, I do not see any problem there. Although the bars purpose was to record code violations and such from official, it was still a bar, and patrons came on their own accord. Many establishments have surveillance systems and no one was being deceived in this situation.

            There are many other ways to formulate a good story without having to breach the line of honesty. Interviews from past employees, documented offences, etc could provide a similar effect.

            To conclude I would say that undercover reporting is appropriate if it serves to alleviate an undesirable circumstance or situation that is important to the writer. If it makes you sleep better at night to know that solved a major issue, benefited society or helped people, then it’s worth it. If you spent weeks of research lying to expose a dodgy dance studio, then you might want to evaluate your morals. I would probably do minor undercover reporting if it did not endanger my well-being and there was reason to believe that it could significantly help something I am passionate about in some way. For example, if I could single-handedly take down the circus and its animal cruelty by employing myself with them for a short period of time, I would do it because the ends would justify the means in my opinion. 

Blog 14-Jimmy Cannon

            One of the most well-known sports writers, Jimmy Cannon, began his career at age 15 when he dropped out of school to be a copy boy. Cannon wrote for the Daily News and the Journal American. He was known as the voice of New York City itself, with the ability to rouse emotion in his readers. He is also credited with founding a new type of journalism in the 1940’s. He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame and also awarded the Red Smith Award for his sports writing. Cannon’s writing is descriptive and at times poetic which we see in “Lethal Lightning.”

            “Lethal Lightning” documents the 1945 boxing fight between Joe Louis and Billy Conn. He uses literary techniques and a unique style of writing to make the story different.

            Cannon starts out with a description of a morphine-induced hallucination about the black night creeping into his brain. He then goes on to incorporate this into the knockout of Conn. He tells the reader in the second paragraph,

            “I remember the last night in the Yankee Stadium when Joe Louis knocked out Billy Conn in the eighth round of a fight that had been tautly dull.”

            He then goes to incorporate the blackness motif into the situation,

            “I felt the old dream coming from a long way off and finding not me, but Billy Conn, who lay in the spurious day of the ring lights and had the aching blackness all to himself.”

            Cannon then goes to tell the story of the fight and thread the darkness motif throughout the story.

            He never comes up front and tells the reader that Louis was much bigger and more intimidating than Conn, but through his descriptions, the reader gets the idea. He describes Conn in a “green-bordered satin bathrobe” entering the ring with his manager who “layed his flabby white arm along the rope and looked into Conn’s face as though he were trying to remember the features before they were destroyed.” He then describes Louis as “big in his flashy red-edged blue robe of silk…moving in the wind of the night.” This is a much more intimidating description. Louis was almost 40 pounds heavier than Conn at the time of the fight, which Cannon never tells us and doesn’t have to.

            He uses status detail to report the fighters and also the observers. For example he points out the “thick cord of fat hanging off his belly when he moved” of Conn which accentuates his weaknesses. The details he used made Conn seem weaker, older and softer than Louis.

            He contrasts the two fighters as the “agile scientist” and the “ignoramus of the ring with nothing but strength.” And later in the story as “big man” and “little man.” Conn being the smaller man who had to strategically place punches and use his moves to try and outsmart the slower but stronger Louis.

            Cannon uses interesting metaphors other than the darkness throughout the piece such as Louis catching punches like snowballs thrown by a child.

            Cannon uses dialogue to present the personalities of the fighters in the end. For example he records Conn saying “I should re-enlist in the army I was so lousy tonight.”

            I think the purpose of this piece is to entertain, not simply just report. Cannon creates a more descriptive piece for readers, which was not common in 1940’s sports writing.

            My question for the class is: What are your opinions on NFL games being “blacked out” for increase ticket revenue and does this create the need for a more literary and descriptive type of sports writing?

Blog 13

Ted Conover is the ultimate immersion journalist. He goes as far as playing the role of an illegal immigrant, living without any luxuries and being in the brotherhood of a pack in Mexicans for the good of the story.

His purpose for writing “Coyotes” is to describe to the reader a day in the life of a misunderstood social group. By doing this he transports the reader into the reality and everyday life of an illegal immigrant.

Conover uses scene construction to describe his surroundings. For example, when he has to pile into an Impala with 8 other grown men and eat his McDonalds in the tight space he gives the reader a sense of the physical and psychological closeness that is associated with being in this Mexican brotherhood. He also used dialogue to accentuate some of the important conversing among characters. For example:

“I’ll tell you what my wishes are…You know what I would like? What I would prize most of all? A green card!”

Conover also puts all Spanish dialogue in italics in order to show when Spanish is spoken. Word choice is important in the piece to convey his relations with the other Mexicans. For example he expresses his need to convey “some wolfish hunger” to prove his manliness. He also describes that avoiding eye contact is a “necessary survival skill.” This accentuates that the Mexicans are actually fighting for survival.

The plot basically takes the reader through a typical evening he spends with the Mexicans. A narrative thread is the main character Martin and how he takes care of the other Mexicans that do not have as much money as him. He buys dinner and beers for the other Mexicans and Conover even though he is described as being on the poverty line. The narrative goes further than to just describe a day in the life but to illustrate a mutual connection, simple moments, joys laughter while facing uncertainty and struggle. He describes Martin as nicer than 99 percent of the people he knows. It is a story of hope, friendship, and morality of man.

Ten Conover is considered one of the best of the new new journalists not only because of his writing style but of his technique of completely submerging himself in the culture he is documenting at the time. This participant-observer style usually means a complete change of lifestyle for Conover, especially coming from the upper-middle class. For his senior thesis at Amherst, Conover gave up all if his luxuries and became a train-riding hobo in order to document this subculture of traveling non-conformists. Out of this came Rolling Nowhere (1984). He did the same thing for Coyotes(1987), where he traveled around with illegal Mexican immigrants, crossing the border multiple times. For Whiteout (1991), Conover worked as a reporter and cab driver to document Aspen’s celebrity culture. Again for NewJack (2000), Conover got a job as prison guard at Sing Sing in order to observe the subculture of prison guards. Conover documents subcultures that are foreign to most readers with an unbiased tone, neither pitying, or praising, simply documenting their lifestyle.

            Although Conover never studied journalism, he worked at a variety of small newspapers when he was younger. Conover instead took a liking to Anthropology, which he credits to be what sparked his interest in seemingly insignificant subcultures. He chooses to saturate himself in the subculture’s environment to get all of the unseen, unspoken, hidden detail that a simple interview can’t get. He thinks that the emotional toll is worth it to get a good story.

            Conover always has an unbiased attitude going in. He credits this to his grade school days where he was bussed in to an interracial school in which he was the minority. He describes this as “liberating”.

            He chooses his stories based on which groups have conflict and change. He then finds the appropriate place and job in order to properly observe his subjects. For NewJack, he completed 7 weeks of training and then worked as a prison guard for 10 months to complete his story. He had to be in complete secret or else he would have been fired or worse. For Coyotes, he traveled with immigrants for 9 months, crossing the border multiple times.

            Conover’s strategy for getting a good story is to try and fit in as much as possible, becoming the character in outward appearance without crossing the line of being so submerged in the lifestyle that you forget to observe. He claims he is always himself although admitting a lot of it is performance based.

            Conover prefers interviews in person to observe a person’s body language and actions.  He relies in small spiral notebooks, which he writes down notes in, while undercover. He opens conversation by first speaking about himself and his past, which gives his subject a sense of trust then asking leading questions.

            Although Conover is submerged in the subjects he writes about, he always keeps his identity as an American journalist. It is almost as if he putting on an act for the sake of fitting in. Dennis Covington on the other hand is open about the fact that he doing a story and seems to be doing “Snake Handling and Redemption” to satisfy his own personal curiosities.

            Covington structures his piece into tiers. He starts off by telling the reader about his own personal love for snakes. He talks about his personal history with snakes and his own history of himself. The first half of the story is about him. He even goes as far to discuss his alcoholism and infertility with the reader. The second part of the story is a factual account of poisonous snakes, something you would find on animal planet: Facts about colors, disposition, danger factor, etc. The third part of the piece goes into the main subject of the sort: a church that uses snake handling to praise god. He describes the church and some expressive personalities and then moves into the last part of the piece, which ties all previous tiers together, his personal experience with snake handling and redemption. He ultimately sees the light and is moved by this act of snake handling.

            Word choice is used throughout this piece in an ironic fashion. For example:

           

“I was hung over. My first wife Susan and I had taken a Sunday drive to visit old cemeteries. It was springtime, and tarantulas were crossing the road in droves.”

This sentence is full of a very distinct word choice. “My first wife” and “In droves” go to show his distinct and rather ironic language. Status detail is also prevalent in this piece. He describes his religious experience as well as the characters he encounters. There is a lot of dialogue in the piece; mainly between himself and the character he encounters which goes to express his feelings about the religious experience he shares with them. For example Brother Charles tells him to be careful who he takes a snake from which is in fact a bigger allegory in the story an encompasses a notion of trust.

            Covington is a participating writer in this piece with a lot of the story focused around him. The story is written in first person. He is invested in the subjects because of his childhood, ancestors, and personal affiliation with snakes. The piece was about the practice of snake handling and his self-discovery.

Question for the class:

Is Ted Conover in fact committing a moral crime by misleading his subjects into trusting him or is he doing them a favor by writing the story about their struggles in the first place? Is Covington more justified by identifying himself as a journalism up front?

Blog 12

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

            Slouching Towards Bethlehem is a collection of essays by Joan Didion on various topics in the 1960’s. The book is divided into three parts.

The first is titled “Life Styles In The Golden Land” which chronicles the eight different situations. The first “Some Dreamers Of The Golden Dream” is an essay about the alleged murder Gordon Miller by his seemingly innocent wife Lucille. The article discusses the breakdown of fundamentalism that inevitably led to an unhappy housewife to find escape by burning her husband alive. 

“John Wayne: A Love Song” is a look at John Wayne behind the scenes on his 165^th movie.

“Where the Kissing Never Stops” documents Joan Benz, a folk singer, who would turn down shows and money for a quiet, calm lifestyle. Benz runs a school, which teaches peace and non-violence and lives a simple, ambiguous lifestyle. She believes in peace but does not associate herself with any movements or political parties.

“Comrade Laski” who is the president of a small communist party in California in the 1960’s. This man constructed a world for himself in the communist group and even had a few followers. Even though the group was widely unpopular, and poor, it emphasized the fact that Laski was trying to appeal to the poor of American to start revolution, which was not working.

“7000 Romaine” is about a neighborhood in Los Angeles Didion refers to as “middle class slum of model studios,” outside of Howard Hughes property. The article document Hughes and the way people view him. Hughes pays his barber to be on staff whenever he needs him, keeps giant empty studios, and has a whole crew of actors essentially “on call.” This is the American ideal of convenience, being able to attain anything at any time.

“California Dreaming” documents the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. This is an elusive and private mansion where certain intellectuals are invited to come and discuss democracy and get paid a salary. The point of this cultural phenomenon is to record all of the intellectual conversation and produce papers and try and shape politics by the use of intelligent correspondence.

“Marrying Absurd” documents the fast-paced wedding phenomenon in Vegas. It looks into a few couples who have married and chapels that crank out one wedding after another.

“Slouching Towards Bethlehem” is the last article that is a deep look into the Haight-Ashbury district where many runaways gathered. The country was socially fragmented and Didion examines the reason for the runaways the their everyday lifestyle. This is a grim look at the “hippies” which goes as far as recounting a 5-year-old child being given LSD. This portrays the counterculture as not a social revolution but a group of misguided teenagers that are irresponsibly rebelling against their strict parents.

The second part of the book, “Personals,” is a look into the life of Didion, and how she views herself. Didion addresses her own self-loathing, her life, morality, self-respect, and going home.

The third part of the book, “Seven Places of the Mind”, Didion writes seven short essays about places she has gone and the significance of them in her life. Of the seven she discusses her home, the Sacramento Valley, New York, Hawaii, Alcatraz, Newport, Los Angeles, and Mexico. Each place reflects her mood and growth.

Since my book was collection of essays, the plot line was very convoluted. The article has many different messages about Didion’s reflection of herself and of society. Didion writes about characters or groups that are socially fragmented. People that do not fit in, live by the beat of their own drum, and not for the better of society, just because. The book is a bleak look at American Culture, and what it is becoming: Housewives who burn their husbands alive, parents giving their children LSD, a millionaire hoarding money and property for the hell of it, the industry of trashy weddings. All in all, this is grim look at California culture of the 1960’s. There’s no hope for society in this book. People are represented as either crazy or oblivious.

Scene construction is used heavily in the book. The desert, the Santa Anna wind, and the cold rocky coast are vividly described in many of the articles as well as the places section. Dialogue is also used to convey a sense of characterization of the people Didion wrote about. Didion uses expressive personalities to base each article around. Didion writes most of the articles in third person, making the first section of the book read like fiction. Didion uses precise word selection, she does not go into great detail, and has an almost Hemingway-like way of putting things.

A new element of literary journalism I could offer from this book is an expression of fragmentation. In most books we have read there is some sort of individual, group, or mass fragmentation whether it is in ones own life, such as “Up in the old hotel”, when we see Louie struggle with his identity, or “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test” where we see a group cut off from the rest of society. In some way the character(s) do not fit in are struggling for acceptance or change.

Joan Didion is an American essay and novel writer who often writes about fragmented America. Didion is from Sacramento and classifies herself as introverted and shy. Tragedy struck Didion when her husband and daughter died. She also wrote “The Year of Magical Thinking” which documents her husband’s death and her coping with it.

My book had reoccurring themes of insanity, poor parenting, morally bankrupt individuals, and suicide. My question for the class is why do you think a lot of new journalism has such a negative and grim portrayal of American culture?

Rearch Paper Outline

Research Paper Outline

Michelle Klug

Introduction

Throughout this class, we have studied new journalism, and tried to pinpoint what makes it “new”.  Three new journalists in particular have had some of their best-known works come out of portraying the west coast as it was known in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Joan Didion give as a dark look at a few expressive personalities as well as her own experiences in the mid 1960’s in “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”. The three-part collection of essays first explores the accounts of a few different people, all in different situations with different perspectives on the happenings of the 1960’s. The second part is Didion’s own account on her past and present. The third part is about a few memorable places, how these places came to shape her and ties in the previous parts of the book.

Tom Wolfe takes us on a wild drug-induced ride in “The Electic Kool Aid Acid Test”. Although Wolfe is not directly in the book, and does not speak of his personal involvement very often, he gives a colorful and innovative account of a group of experimental travelers led my Ken Kesey. Wolfe reflects some individual and group voices and gives the reader a look into the culture of the 1960’s as seen through the eyes of a Merry Prankster.

Hunter S. Thomson uses gonzo journalism in many articles published in “The Great Shark Hunt”. His focus is on the late 1960’s and early 1970’s culture if a different manner than both Didion and Wolfe. His total immersion, wild, and crude account of his own experiences give the reader a different perspective on the counterculture, their happenings, and ideals.

Research Question

What are the techniques and styles used by Thomson, Wolfe, and Didion to portray the 60’s and 70’s counterculture and represent the social fragmentation of this time period?

Literature Review

Reading and explanation of works of the three authors are necessary. While I have a pretty good understanding of these works, I will use articles, videos, and excerpts to show how each author portrays the culture. I will also use literature to explore the authors’ roles in the books, their feelings toward and involvement in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and how this is reflected in each of their stories.

Research Methods

Some themes I will explore are rejection of tradition, sexuality, individuality, and distrust of authority. I will explore how each of these authors represent these themes and how it reflects on the generation and the view of new journalism as a whole.

I have read works from all three authors. I will choose the articles from The Great Shark Hunt that describe Thomson’s reflections the best. I am using “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test.” I will analyze all three and show how each differ in showing the themes above and how each author represents the counterculture of the 1960’s.

Results

After a close analysis of the books, I will compare and contrast each and express the results in my research paper.

Discussion

How a distinct culture can be represented in different ways using select groups. What are the negative and positive of the cultural revolution were portrayed and were the authors justified in focusing on these aspects?

Bibliography

Thompson, Hunter S. (1992). Gonzo Papers, Volume 1: The Great Shark Hunt. New York, NY. Ballantine Books.

Didion, Joan. (1968). Slouching Towards Bethlehem. New York, NY. Simon and Schuster.

Wolfe, Tom. (1968). The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. New York, NY. Farrar, Straus, and Girox

Staub, Michael E. (1997). Black Panthers, New Journalism, and the Rewriting of the Sixties. Representations. 57. Pp. 52-72. Retrieved September 13, 2010, from htt://jstor.org/stable/2928663

This article discusses how new journalism portrays a true reality of social fragmentation of the 60’s. The article discusses objectivity and the reasons for the rise of new journalism.

Wimmer, Natasha. "Joan Didion: Telling It Like It Is (or Should Be)." Publishers Weekly 248.42 (2001): 41-42. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 13 Sept. 2010.

Muggli, Mark Z. "The Poetics of Joan Didion's Journalism." American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 59.3 (1987): 402-421. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 13 Sept. 2010.

Konas, Gary. "Traveling 'Furthur' with Tom Wolfe's Heroes." Journal of Popular Culture 28.3 (1994): 177-192. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 13 Sept. 2010.

Bortz, Eli J. The New Journalism and Its Editors: Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe, and Their Early Experiences. Gainesville, Fla.: University of Florida, 2005. Internet resource

Meyers, Paul T. New Journalist As Culture Critic: Wolfe, Thompson, Talese. , 1989. Print.

Thompson, Hunter S, Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney, and Johnny Depp. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Los Angeles, Calif: Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2008.

           

Blog 11

            Hunter S. Thompson uses a dynamic and powerful word choice in his writings. In “The Scum Also Rises”, the title itself is a coarse allegory to the novel by Hemingway, “The Sun Also Rises.” Thompson’s writing is very straightforward with each section being broken off by a descriptive and comical title such as,

“The suck-tide reaches San Clemente…Ziegler beings the news to the boss…General Haig and the bag if dimes…The sybaritic priest and the mentally retarded Rabbi…More talk to the ‘Suicide Option’.”

            Thompson sets the scene for a morbid administration that seems to be falling apart, slowly decaying, until finally the bottom falls out. He describes the “rotting roofs of our nation’s capital” in the first paragraph.

“The rats are deserting the ship at high speed.” Thomson uses this quote in the very beginning of the story and compares the corrupt politicians to vile creatures scurrying out of a ship.

            Thomson often refers the event as the “Deathwatch” since everyone seemed to know the end result and was just sitting around watching to downfall of Nixon. He also makes reference to the ‘suicide option’ that also makes reference to a self-destructive death of his position as president.

“The wheels of doom begin rolling.” This statement sets the stage of the unavoidable downfall and impeachment trial.

            His vocabulary is sarcastically cynical during the piece such as, “The Boss himself had appointed to the Court might now cheerfully endorse a concept of presidential immunity that mocked both the U.S. Constitution and Magna Carta…” This particular word choice voices Thomson’s thoughts and the subject and make Nixon’s defenses seem so far fetched they are on the verge of insanity.

            During the ocean scene, Thomson makes reference to the “sucking water” around Nixon’s ankles. This is a foreshadowing word choice on what’s in store for Nixon. The water (court) wants to suck him out to sea to drown in his own lies and cease to be president. Throughout the piece there are words that allude to death, rot, destruction, which parallels the break down and death of Nixon’s administration.

            The Lead of the “The “scum” also rises” captures the reader by incorporating a crafty quote as the first sentence. “American politics will never be the same”. This makes the reader wonder why will it never be the same? And keeps them reading to the next paragraph. Thomson then describes the place from which he is writing and the dark dreadful scene that is the Capitol. This is foreshadowing and sets the mood for the rest of the story.

            The ending is also very metaphorical. He describes a disoriented Nixon, stumbling to get on the helicopter. This is the story seen by Hunter S., and heard by Hunter S. He brings himself into the story once again in his final description of Nixon exiting the Capitol and the presidency altogether.

Question for the class:

“The scum also rises” is play on words to Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.” What similar ideas and writing strategies so you see in these two pieces? Why do you think this piece eludes the Hemingway’s book? Here is the poem Hemingway presents at the beginning of his book, which his title is based on:

"The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose."

Blog 10

From my understanding, Gonzo journalism can be defined by taking all of the rules we have learned in our classes, and doing the exact opposite, while still keeping a clever and informative writing style. Objectivity, accuracy, not interjecting, and courtesy are irrelevant. Hell, you can even admit to being hammered-drunk and on multiple drugs during your story.

I guess it’s only appropriate to start with the true Gonzo journalist, the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Hunter S. Thomson. Thomson often gives a drug and alcohol induced account of the underbelly of American culture. Whether it’s a motorcycle race, a gang of violent bikers, or a political catastrophe, Thomson sheds light on the corrupt and the insane nature of the different cultures he documents. Thomson is ultimately immersed in the story and in times IS the story. He is always present in his story; his actions make up the structure of the writing.

His stories follow his convoluted stream of consciousness into the dark nature of his subjects and their downfall of logical thinking. His language is crude and at times offensive. He uses sarcastically cynical language to describe these scenes. His technique is not outrage (like Taibbi) but a smirk at the ugly side of the American Dream.    

Taibbi is similar to Hunter S. in a lot of ways. His writings are a blatant attack on the aristocracy of American’s culture. His stories go to expose the wrongdoings of the higher-ups in control. He is not at all objective, and sets out to expose the ugly truth and only that. There is no doubt in my mind Taibbi has been sued for Slander. His revelations about supply and demand control are almost unbelievable. It sheds light on a messed up situation and makes the democratic system look like it is in shambles. His motive is to expose the corrupt market manipulations by bank and government authorities and his means is a rant of outrage, very knowledabe, well-written, well-researched outrage. For example, in the “The Great American Bubble Machine”, Taibbi said,

“The bank's unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere — high gas prices, rising consumer credit rates, half-eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you're losing, it's going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it's going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth — pure profit for rich individuals.”

This is a crude and blatant outrage on Goldman Sachs. There is no other side to the story and this “I don’t give a damn” sort of attitude is shown throughout the rest of the piece. Although Taibbi does interject his opinions, he does not interject himself and his actions as we see with Hunter S.

Ron Rosenbaum, on the other hand, does not seek to expose a corrupt American, but instead seems to write to satisfy his personal curiosities. He interjects himself immensely, but not to the point where the story becomes about him more than it does about the subject. Rosenbaum seems to be investigating puzzling situations, or something that may be misconceived. The reader follows his stream of consciousness from an anecdote, to a personal story, to what sparked his curiosity and then his quest. For example, in the Photo Scandal article this anecdote starts the story,

“ONE AFTERNOON IN THE LATE 1970's, deep in the labyrinthine interior of a massive Gothic tower in New Haven, an unsuspecting employee of Yale University opened a long-locked room in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium and stumbled upon something shocking and disturbing.

Shocking, because what he found was an enormous cache of nude photographs, thousands and thousands of photographs of young men in front, side and rear poses. Disturbing, because on closer inspection the photos looked like the record of a bizarre body-piercing ritual: sticking out from the spine of each and every body was a row of sharp metal pins.”

We then get into his personal interjection and reason for writing the article,

“One fall afternoon in the mid-60's, shortly after I arrived in New Haven to begin my freshman year at Yale, I was summoned to that sooty Gothic shrine to muscular virtue known as Payne Whitney Gym. I reported to a windowless room on an upper floor, where men dressed in crisp white garments instructed me to remove all of my clothes.”

 His quest involves a series of clues, dead-ends, and revelations until we finally get the big picture. By the end of the story we know quite a bit about Rosenbaum and get a sense of his curious nature, and investigative skills as a reporter.

In the Skull and Bones article, Rosenbaum does not simply seek out the secrets of the secret society but gives a deeper meaning behind the ritualistic cult. He exposes the meaning as sense of security, belonging, reminder of talent, and self-preservation. And although he leaves the reader saying, “What are the secrets”, the article achieves a different purpose than what you would expect. He chose not to write an article on the “supposed secret” from “secret sources” that may or may not be telling the truth, but he takes it in a different direction, which I found very interesting.